Operating Deficits Too Much For Sacred Heart Catholic School To Continue

Sacred Heart Catholic School in Williams Lake will be closing upon its completion of its current school year in June.

In letter sent by the Office of the Superintendent for Catholic Independent Schools Kamloops Diocese to parents, it stated all realistic alternatives to keep the school open have been exhausted.

They said enrolment has been insufficient over the last few years to sustain its operations and have seen significant and recurring operating deficits.

It went on to say these deficits have been offset by the accumulated savings of the school but have now reached the point where they will quickly be exhausted.

“We have stepped up efforts to economize since 2020,” Christoper Yuen, the Superintendent for Catholic Independent Schools of the Kamloops Diocese said in a release, “This drop in students has meant that the school has run a recurring operating deficit since then.”

It was pointed out that last year alone (2023-24) the school ran a deficit of more than $200,000 and this year’s budget forecasts a shortfall that will nearly exhaust their remaining savings.

According to the letter, forecasting for the 2025-26 school year the deficit is too great for the school to manage, as a school, we do not have the means to cover an annual shortfall of such magnitude.

Efforts have been stepped up to improve revenues through tuition increases well above inflation during this time and there have been other cost savings made to keep expenses at a minimum to without compromising the the quality of education for our students,” the letter stated.

“We have much to be proud of. Sacred Heart Catholic School has provided quality Catholic education for generations of Williams Lake families who have gone on to be productive members of the community and in our church. It is a wonderful legacy for which we can all be grateful,” Yuen stated.

The Catholic Independent Schools of the Kamloops Diocese also operates a school in Quesnel.